Category:Novels set in California

Pages in this category should be moved to subcategories where applicable. This category may require frequent maintenance to avoid becoming too large. It should directly contain very few, if any, pages and should mainly contain subcategories.

1.
Cannery Row (novel)
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Cannery Row is a novel by American author John Steinbeck, published in 1945. It is set during the Great Depression in Monterey, California, the story revolves around the people living there, Lee Chong, the local grocer, Doc, a marine biologist, and Mack, the leader of a group of derelicts. The actual location Steinbeck was writing about, Ocean View Avenue in Monterey, was later renamed Cannery Row in honor of the book, a film version was released in 1982 and a stage version was produced in 1995. Cannery Row has a premise, Mack and his friends are trying to do something nice for their friend Doc. Mack hits on the idea that they should throw a party. Unfortunately, the party out of control, and Docs lab. In an effort to return to Docs good graces, Mack, a procession of linked vignettes describes the denizens lives on Cannery Row. These constitute subplots that unfold concurrently with the main plot, Steinbeck revisited these characters and this milieu nine years later in his novel Sweet Thursday. Lee Chong is the shrewd Chinese owner and operator of the grocery store known as Lee Chongs Heavenly Flower Grocery. The grocery opened at dawn and did not close until the last wandering vagrant dime had been spent or retired for the night, not that Lee Chong was avaricious. He wasnt, but if one wanted to spend money, he was available, no one is really sure whether Lee ever receives any of the money he is owed or if his wealth consisted entirely of unpaid debts, but he lives comfortably and does legitimate business. Doc is a marine biologist who studies and collects sea creatures from all along the California coast, most of these creatures are preserved in some way and are sent all over the country to universities, laboratories, and museums. You can order anything living from Western Biological, and sooner or later you will get it, Doc is described as deceptively small with great strength and the potential for passionate anger. He wears a beard, very strange and unpopular at the time, Doc tips his hat to dogs as he drives by and the dogs look up and smile at him. Doc is also the smartest man in Cannery Row, interested in knowing something about everything, Doc would listen to any kind of nonsense and change it for you to a kind of wisdom. His mind had no horizon, Steinbeck wrote, everyone who knew him was indebted to him. And everyone who thought of him next, I really must do something nice for Doc. The character of Doc is based on Steinbecks friend Ed Ricketts, Ricketts was a noted marine biologist and the one who got Steinbeck interested in the subject

2.
Confessions of a Crap Artist
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Confessions of a Crap Artist is a 1975 novel by Philip K. Dick, originally written in 1959. Dick wrote about a dozen non-science fiction novels in the period from 1948 to 1960, the novel chronicles a bitter and complex marital conflict in 1950s suburban California. Each chapter is written in alternating perspective switching between first person perspective from the characters as well as chapters written from a third person perspective. The novel contains only small amounts of the mystical and science fiction concepts that define much of Dick’s work. Rolling Stone Magazine called it a “funny, horribly accurate look at life in California in the 1950s and he catalogs old science magazines, collects worthless objects, and believes disproved theories, such as the notions that the Earth is hollow or that sunlight has weight. Broke, Jack eventually moves in with his sister’s family in a farm house in rural West Marin County. On the farm, Jack happily does housework and cares for livestock and he also joins a small apocalyptic religious group, which shares his belief in extra-sensory perception, telepathy and UFOs and believes the world will end on April 23,1959. However, most of his time is dedicated to a meticulous “scientific journal” of life on the farm, Jack’s sister, Fay Hume, is a difficult and subtly controlling woman who makes life miserable for everyone close to her, especially her misogynist husband Charley. Fay has an affair with a young grad student named Nat Anteil while Charley is in a hospital recovering from a heart attack. After Jack reports this to Charley, the plots to kill Fay. Charley kills Fays animals and then commits suicide, realising that Fay has led him to do this, however, his will stipulates that Jack is to inherit half the house. Fay must buy her out, because Jack does not want to leave. Jack then uses his half of the money he is paid to replace the slaughtered animals, Nat and his wife Gwen divorce, and Nat decides to stay with Fay. When the end of the world doesnt occur on the predicted date, Jack feels compelled to engage with ideas and studies that those around him consider worthless. Although Dick never states directly that Jack is mentally ill, his behavior closely mirrors obsessive compulsive disorder, despite his possible disorder, Jack is the most productive character in the novel. He runs both the farm and the household when Charley is in the hospital without sacrificing his scientific inquiries, at one point in the book, Jack is offered the opportunity to enter into the same comfortable, suburban lifestyle as his sister. Fay and Charley, on the hand, are wholly destructive characters. Throughout the novel, it is revealed, or at least implied and they refuse to get a divorce both because of the social taboo against it and because each fears losing their luxurious home to the other

3.
Always Coming Home
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Always Coming Home is a novel by author Ursula K. Le Guin, published in 1985, about a group of humans—the Kesh—who might be going to have lived a long, long time from now in Northern California. Part novel, part textbook, part anthropologists record, Always Coming Home describes the life and culture of the Kesh people. The story fills less than a third of the book, with the rest being a mixture of Kesh cultural lore, essays on Kesh culture, some editions of the book were accompanied by a tape of Kesh music and poetry. Pandora describes the book as a protest against contemporary civilization, which the Kesh call the Sickness of Man. Pandora muses that one key difference is due to cumulative genetic damage. They use such inventions of civilization as writing, steel, guns, electricity, trains, and they blend millennia of human economic culture by combining aspects of hunter-gatherer, agriculture, and industry, but reject cities, indeed, what they call towns would count as villages now. The cultural lore has attributions or annotations such as a fieldworker might make. A number of these are attributed to another Kesh woman, Little Bear Woman, the name is an equivalent of the authors first name, Ursula. The novel received the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize in 1985, In addition and it has been noted that Always Coming Home underscores Le Guins long-standing anthropological interests. The Valley of the Na is modeled on the landscape of Californias Napa Valley, like much of Le Guins work, Always Coming Home follows Native American themes. According to Richard Erlich, Always Coming Home is a retelling of much in A. L. Kroebers monumental Handbook of the Indians of California. There are also some elements retrieved from her mothers The Inland Whale, such as the importance of the nine. There are also Taoist themes, the heyiya-if looks like the taijitu, additionally, in 1975, Le Guin described herself as an unconsistent Taoist and a consistent un-Christian. It is set in a time so post-apocalyptic that no source can remember the apocalypse. The only signs of our civilisation that have lasted into their time are artifacts such as styrofoam, a box set edition of the book, comes with an audiocassette entitled Music and Poetry of the Kesh, featuring 10 musical pieces and 3 poetry performances by Todd Barton. The book contains 100 original illustrations by Margaret Chodos, a stage version of Always Coming Home was mounted at Naropa University in 1993 by Ruth Davis-Fyer. Music for the production was composed and directed by Brian Mac Ian, although it was original music, original trade release 1985 ISBN 0-06-015545-0 Mass-market Bantam Spectra paperback 1986 ISBN 0-553-26280-7 Trade paperback from the University of California Press February 2001

4.
"A" Is for Alibi
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A Is for Alibi is crime writer Sue Graftons debut mystery novel in the Kinsey Millhone Alphabet mystery series, first published in 1982. The novel is set in the fictional southern California city of Santa Teresa, grafton admits she conceived the story on her own fantasies of murdering her then husband while going through a divorce. The first printing of A Is for Alibi was 7,500 copies, a Is for Alibi features Kinsey Millhone,32, a private detective. She investigates the death of prominent divorce lawyer Laurence Fife and his murder eight years earlier was blamed on his wife, Nikki Fife, who upon being released from prison hires Kinsey to find the real murderer. In the course of the investigation Kinsey becomes involved with Charlie Scorsoni and she discovers Fifes death has been linked to that of a woman in Los Angeles, his law firms accountant, both died after taking poisonous oleander capsules which had been substituted for allergy pills. Kinsey tracks down the parents and former boyfriend. She then goes to Las Vegas to interview Fifes former secretary, Sharon Napier, back in California, Kinsey is mystified that Nikkis son, Colin, recognizes Laurences first wife, Gwen, in a photograph. Kinsey surmises that Gwen was having an affair with her ex-husband at the time of his death, shortly afterwards, she too is dead, killed in a hit-and-run crash. He used the method that Gwen used to kill Fife. In a final confrontation, he chases Kinsey across the beach, before he can kill her, she shoots him dead

5.
The Age of Miracles
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The Age of Miracles is the debut novel of American writer Karen Thompson Walker. It was published in June 2012 by Random House in the United States, the book chronicles the fictional phenomenon of slowing, in which one Earth day takes longer to complete. The novel received positive reviews and publishing deals totaling £1.12 million, the book was nominated as part of the Waterstones 11 literary award in 2012. The idea for the slowing first came to Walker on reading that the 2004 Indonesia tsunami had caused the Earths rotation to slow by some fractions of a second. She started researching the effects of a more large-scale slowing, mostly on the Internet, since she was working full-time as an editor at Simon & Schuster at the time, she took to writing the story in mornings. Although it took her four years to complete the book, Walker enjoyed writing this way, Walker lists Blindness by José Saramago as one of the books that inspired her to write The Age of Miracles. Julia is an eleven-year-old who lives in California, a few months before her birthday, the world undergoes an unexplained phenomenon called slowing, in which the completion of one rotation of the Earth takes longer. By the time it is confirmed by the experts, a day is 24 hours and 56 minutes, the hours steadily increase and dramatically alter life on Earth. Some people reject clock time altogether, like Julias neighbor Sylvia, such people, called real timers, face discrimination. Meanwhile, the days have psychological effects on people, Julias mother starts suffering from a slowing-related disorder, crime rates hike. In addition to this, Julias grandfather goes missing on her twelfth birthday, julia tries to adapt to her new life. Feeling lonely since Hannas departure and her subsequent indifference, she strikes up a friendship with her crush, Seth Moreno. Julias grandfather is found dead after having tripped into his nuclear-proof cellar. This causes Julias father to leave Sylvia and form a bond with his wife. Meanwhile, a thinning of the Earths magnetosphere due to the rotation causes solar super storms to strike the Earth. The resulting radiation causes the syndrome to more severe. As a result, Seth becomes victim of an aggressive form of the syndrome that nearly kills him. Seths father decides to take him to Mexico, where the symptoms are supposedly less fatal, julia receives one last e-mail from Seth after his reaching Mexico, but soon after, America is hit by a 72-hour power failure due to excessive electricity used to artificially grow crops

6.
Almanac of the Dead
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Almanac of the Dead is a novel by Leslie Marmon Silko, first published in 1991. Almanac of the Dead takes place against the backdrop of the American Southwest and it follows the stories of dozens of major characters in a somewhat non-linear narrative format. Much of the takes place in the present day, although lengthy flashbacks. The novels numerous characters are separated by both time and space, and many seemingly have little to do with one another at first. Driving many of these individual storylines is a theme of total reclamation of Native American lands

7.
America Is in the Heart
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Born in 1913, Bulosan recounts his boyhood in the Philippines. The early chapters describe his life as a Filipino farmer plowing with a carabao, Bulosan was the fourth oldest son of the family. As a young Filipino, he lived on the farm tended by his father, while his mother was separately living in a barrio in Binalonan, Pangasinan. Their hardships included pawning their land and having to sell items in order to finish the schooling of his brother Macario and he had another brother named Leon, a soldier who came back after fighting in Europe. Bulosans narration about his life in the Philippines was followed by his journey to the United States and he recounted how he immigrated to America in 1930. The struggles included beatings, threats, and ill health, in this book, Bulosan also narrated his attempts to establish a labor union. Bulosans book had been compared to The Grapes of Wrath except that the main, despite the bitterness however, Bulosan reveals in the final pages of the book that because he loved America no one could ever destroy his faith in his new country. It is a book that people of all races and genders to ponder. After the 1946 printing, America Is in the Heart was republished by the University of Washington Press in 1973, because of its subtitle A Personal History, America Is in the Heart is regarded as an autobiography but – according to P. C. Morantte – had to be fictionalized by Bulosan, imbibing the book with real characters, thus it was described by one character in the books original draft as 30% autobiography, 40% case history of Pinoy life in America, and 30% fiction. As can be evidenced by Carlos Bulosan’s America Is in the Heart, in reality, the life of any Filipino in the United States during this time period was “lonely” and “damned, ” as Bulosan described in a letter to a friend. When he and his friend José arrived in California in 1930, “the lives of Filipinos were cheaper than those of dogs. ”As the Filipino population grew and the Great Depression worsened, the anti-Filipino movement flourished. The anti-Filipino sentiment that plagued the American mindset during this period can be observed in a few separate events. The most violent and well known incident occurred in California in 1930, four hundred white vigilantes attacked a Filipino night club, injuring dozens, in 1933, California and twelve other state legislatures restricted Filipino-white marriages. Lastly, in 1935 the Welch Bill volunteered a fixed sum of cash to pay for the fare of Filipinos who would go back to the Philippines. Events such as these prove the anti-Filipino sentiment that afflicted Carlos Bulosan, the Great Depression in western America was the cause of strong bonds between culture groups and families and further fueled the racial tensions between the white farm owners and the migrant workers. Bulosan “came to represent the ‘voice of Bataan’, ” because of this strong desire, bulosans writings reached a wide audience, many of whom were feeling similar strife due to the state of the nation’s economy. The agriculture community in the West, especially in California, was characterized by a deficit in jobs, America Is in the Heart serves as a piece of activist literature

8.
Amityville: The Horror Returns
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Amityville, The Horror Returns is a 1989 horror novel and the fifth installment in Amityville book series written by John G. Jones. It is the book to be about the Lutzes as they are stalked by the presence they fled from in Amityville. A regular fine and dry day in southern California, George Lutz works on his new home while Kathys sons Greg and Matt cause trouble inside. Kathy Lutz yells at them but it takes two parents to get them outside, George sits down to eat breakfast. A house fly comes out of nowhere and lands on his food and he goes to kill it but finds himself unable to move or speak. George then realizes the presence has found the Lutzes yet again, a fire monster is then led by the fly towards George Lutz after he manages to break free. Kathy wakes him up and he finds out he was dreaming and her daughter Amy is about to comfort her mother when she hears a noise in the living room. She goes into the living room and she gets very happy and says Jodie, you came back. Still unaware of the presence in the house, George and Kathy go on a business trip to Portland, Oregon leaving the kids at home with the sitter, Nancy. George and Kathy are stalked by the presence to Oregon where they encounter a girl on a golf course. Things are much worse at home though, George and Kathy while on their way home are attacked by the presence on the plane. When George and Kathy reach the airport the presence does everything it can to prevent them reaching the house where the kids. When they find the car they race onto the Los Angeles freeway, the cars on the freeway disappear and George loses control of the car. George and Kathy jump out just before the car runs off a cliff, an Indian finds them and gives them his truck. George and Kathy take the truck and race towards the house, the Indian man walks over to the Lutzes destroyed car and destroys the evil cloud which took control of the car. George and Kathy turn onto their street and rush up to the end of the street to find their house is gone, in its place, A 2 1⁄2-story Dutch colonial house. Better known as 112 Ocean Ave. George and Kathy stunned that their old house is in front of them, as they get out of the car the house greets them. The lights start going on and off in one room at a time, then they go off at the same time and even faster

9.
Amnesia Moon
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Amnesia Moon is a 1995 novel by Jonathan Lethem. Lethem adapted the novel from several unpublished short stories he had written, in finished form Amnesia Moon bears homage to Philip K. Dick. In fact, during a party scene, one guest describes a battle of wills in West Marin, clearly a reference to Dicks Dr. Bloodmoney, one character even cites a West Marin inhabitant named Hoppington, evocative of the mutant telepath Hoppy Harrington in the latter book. The protagonist is a survivalist named Chaos, who lives in an abandoned megaplex in Wyoming after an apparent nuclear strike, the residents of his town of Hatfork are reliant on a sinister messianic figure named Kellogg for food. Kellogg also has dreams, which he transfers into the minds of others. Chaoss mind is especially receptive, making him reluctant to sleep, both Lethem and Chaos abandon this premise early on, and Chaos also goes by the name of Everett Moon, depending on where he is. The novel plays with several other dystopian and post-apocalyptic setups, one area is covered in a thick green fog, save for an exclusive private school. Vacaville, California, has converted to a social system. Again, this is reminiscent of Dicks Solar Lottery, where society is based on chance. There are echoes of other works by Dick, elsewhere, it is argued that the depicted realities splintered away from each other to provide resistance to a hive-like alien invasion of Earth. Such solipsistic worlds are reminiscent of Dicks early novel Eye in the Sky, the one constant throughout is the idea that reality is shaped by powerful and charismatic dreamers. The reason for the break in realities, and Chaos/Moons place in world, is a unifying mystery. From Dick to Lethem, The Dickian Legacy, Postmodernism, and Avant-Pop in Jonathan Lethems Amnesia Moon, Science-Fiction Studies #86,29,1, March 2002, 15-33

10.
Among the Missing (novel)
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Among the Missing is a horror novel by American author Richard Laymon. It was first published in 1999 by Headline Publishing, the novel takes place in Sierra County, California, primarily around the Silver Lake area. The story begins with a man and woman visiting a section of the Silver River referred to as the Bend, the next day, the womans decapitated body is discovered by a young couple, Bass and his girlfriend Faye. Sheriff Rusty Hodges and his daughter-in-law, Deputy Mary Pac Hodges, are called in to investigate, the pursuit of the killer leads to a complicated series of events involving Merton, the dead womans husband, and a revenge scheme involving two of the main characters. Like many of Laymons other works, the book features strong adult content, themes of sex and rape are present

11.
And Kill Once More
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And Kill Once More, by American novelist Al Fray, was published in 1955 by Graphic Publishing Company, Hasbrouck Heights, N. J. Marty Bowman was an L. A. lifeguard who thought he might like to play detective, at a posh house party in the central California mountains he got his chance to play— for keeps. Kate Weston is worried about her friend Sandy Engle, since her marriage to George Engle, the vivacious Sandy has practically become a recluse. The guests at the party seem to have little in common until George Engle turns up dead at the bottom of his swimming pool with Marty Bowmans lucky silver dollar clenched in his fist. The murder investigation by slow-moving local sheriff Frank Toland finds the thread that connects most of the guests, Marty becomes the prime suspect in the murder and to save his own neck has to stay one step ahead of Toland. After bar-hopping with a jubilant Sandy for the rest of the evening, the next morning, however, Marty finds that Sandy too has been murdered. Unbeknownst to the sheriff, Sandy had retained possession of some of the evidence her husband had used to blackmail their guests, the murderer, sensing that Marty is closing in on the truth, sets for him the same underwater death trap used on George. Fortunately, Martys familiarity with swimming pool hydraulics enables him to anticipate the trap, foil it, a struggle ensues, followed by the climactic denouement